Lawmakers say drug monitoring debate isn't over in Missouri

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Key lawmakers say a prescription drug monitoring program that Republican Gov. Eric Greitens created through an executive order doesn't go far enough and that legislation is still needed.

At issue is the program's focus on overprescribing doctors instead of doctor-shopping patients.

Greitens said in announcing the program Monday that he wants it to target "pill mills." The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Greitens' plan differs significantly from what has been debated in the Legislature and what is in place in other states and in more than 26 counties and jurisdictions across Missouri. That's because Greitens' plan doesn't allow doctors to see if a patient has already been prescribed an opioid before writing a new prescription.